Project to enhance environmental justice program at University of Utah

(Denver, Colo. – Dec.6, 2012) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the Utah Society for Environmental Education in Salt Lake City with a $25,000 grant to enhance the environmental justice program at the University of Utah. Today’s award is part of a total of $1.2 million in competitive grants awarded to 50 non-profit and tribal organizations working to address environmental justice issues nationwide. The grants enable non-profit organizations to conduct research, provide education, and develop solutions to local health and environmental issues in communities overburdened by harmful pollution.

“EPA’s environmental justice grants provide important support to community-based organizations working to advance environmental justice at the local level,” said Lisa Garcia, senior advisor to the administrator for environmental justice. “This year’s grants will help organizations in 26 states and Puerto Rico to perform projects that will educate residents about issues that may impact their health, collect data about local environmental conditions, and work to address environmental justice issues in their communities.”

The Utah Society for Environmental Education will work with University of Utah students to create an environmental justice simulation program for coursework; engage graduate students in the development of service learning projects and provide partnerships between local community service providers and students. (Contact: Andree' Walker – 801.328.1549)

The 2012 environmental justice grants support activities that address a range of community concerns including seeking healthier alternatives to household pesticides, restoring and protecting waterways and reducing exposure to air pollutants from diesel exhaust associated with the movement of goods.

Environmental justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in the environmental decision-making process. Since 1994, EPA’s environmental justice small grants program has supported projects to address environmental justice issues in more than 1,300 communities. The grants represent EPA’s continued commitment to expand the conversation on environmentalism and advance environmental justice in communities across the nation.